The report notes, “Lobbyists representing the Saudi government reserved blocks of rooms at President Trump’s D.C. hotel within a month of Trump’s election in 2016 — paying for an estimated 500 nights at the luxury hotel in just three months.”

The Post added, “These lobbyists were reserving large numbers of D.C.-area hotel rooms as part of an unorthodox campaign that offered U.S. military veterans a free trip to Washington — then sent them to Capitol Hill to lobby against a law the Saudis opposed, according to veterans and organizers.”

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes broke it down further on Wednesday:

Chris Hayes explains another bombshell report that Saudi lobbyists paid for hundreds of rooms at Trump’s hotel after the 2016 election. #ctl#p2pic.twitter.com/4GNmK47N7K

Saudi Arabia used U.S. military veterans to pump money into a Trump hotel. The Washington Post reports that lobbyists representing the Saudi government paid for an estimated 500 rooms at President Trump’s D.C. hotel in the months after his election, the total bill for those trips, more than $270,000. According to the Post, the lobbyists rented the rooms ostensibly as part of a pressure campaign to overturn legislation opposed by the Saudi government. The lobbyists offered veterans a free trip to Washington if they then went to Capitol Hill to lobby against the law. Several veterans told the Post the trips featured fancy dinners in a Trump hotel dining room, an open bar that was frequently extended. One of the veterans said he was confused by the opulent nature of the trips until one of the organizers who had been drinking mini bar champaign mentioned the Saudi prince. “I said, ‘Oh, we were just used to give Trump money.'”

Trump is firmly in the back pocket of the Saudi royal family

The revelation that Trump essentially used U.S. veterans to line his pockets with Saudi money would be stunning if it wasn’t part of a pattern we’ve all become familiar with.

To Trump, there is nothing more important than enriching himself, his businesses and his family – even if it means selling out the country in the process.

As I wrote in October, “Trump has no moral compass. He cares only about how much others praise him or benefit his personal and financial interests.”

The fact that the White House has essentially turned a blind eye to the Saudi-ordered killing of a Washington Post journalist is just the latest demonstration that his bank account drives his loyalties.

For two years, Trump has repeatedly shown that his “America First” talking point is nothing more than an empty slogan.

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.

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